I wrote this piece while in residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska, where the artists of different disciplines (writers, artists, composers) are given an opportunity to dedicate all their time to creative work. When I was writing this piece, I was fascinated by images of sky, simple patterns based on numbers, and the sound of the traditional Chinese instruments: unique timbre of Sheng, the human voice-like expressive qualities of Erhu, versatility of Guzheng and the timbral qualities of Qudi (its "roundness') and Bangdi (its brightness).

The imagery of the piece was inspired by visual art of past residents of the Center. It was right by my composer's studio at Kimmel where I saw the paintings of Nebraska's artists and past residents Kirsten Pluhacek and Shelly Bartek, which gave me inspiration to compose first 3 sections of the piece (section A, subtitled in the score as "Above" – mm. 1-30, section B – "Below – mm. 31-60 and section A1 – “The Light From Within" – mm. 61-90). The final section (section C, mm. 91-121) and the title of the piece are based on the work of a British artist, Robert Sample. His painting (Skyward) was commissioned for the St Michael's Hospice in East Sussex and is displayed in the Hospice Chapel. The miniature version of these images is included on the title page of my piece in the following order (left to right): 1. Kirsten Pluhacek, Above/Below Study I; 2. Shelly Bartek, The Light From Within; 3. Robert Sample, Skyward.

I wrote this piece while in residency at the Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts in Nebraska, where the artists of different disciplines (writers, artists, composers) are given an opportunity to